Recliner and rocker-recliner chairs are generally well known in the furniture industry. The terms recliner and rocker-recliner are used throughout this discussion to describe articles of furniture that include a reclining mechanism, either with or without a rocking feature. Generally rocker-recliners are chairs that allow the user to rock as well as recline and are equipped with extendable footrests. Rocker-recliners are often in the form of a plush chair, however, they might also take the form of an oversized seat, a seat-and-a-half, a love seat, a sofa, a sectional, and the like.
The rocker mechanism is generally well known in the furniture industry. The rocker mechanism typically has a base that includes a pair of side rails that are interconnected with a pair of cross rails. The rocker mechanism also includes a rocker cam assembly and a spring assembly. The rocker cam assembly is coupled to the top surface of the side rails. The rocker cams are typically made from wood, plastic, or metal and have a curved cam surface that contacts an upper surface of the side rails. The curved cam surface allows the rocking motion of the chair. Spring retention devices are coupled to cross rails with a set of springs mounted therebetween. The springs resist the rocking motion of the chair and bias the chair to a neutral at rest position.
The reclining motion is achieved in rocker-recliner chairs with a linkage mechanism that is coupled to the base and/or a rocker mechanism. The linkage mechanisms found in rocker-recliner chairs in the art include a plurality of interconnected links that provide one or more mechanisms for extending a footrest, reclining the chair, and obstructing movements of the chair when in specific orientations. Typically, rocker-recliners known in the art provide three positions: an upright seated position with the footrest retracted beneath the chair, a television viewing or TV position in which the chair back is slightly reclined but still provides a generally upright position with the footrest extended, and a “full” recline position in which the chair back is reclined an additional amount further than in the TV position but still generally inclined with respect to the seat of the chair and with the foot rest extended.
This type of prior art recliner mechanism, while functional, suffers from a number of drawbacks. One of which includes the inability to provide a fully flat seating surface when in the full reclined position. Many prior art designs achieve only about a 30° angle (with respect to the horizontal) of a backrest portion of the recliner. Further, such is only achieved through the extension of a footrest to a height well above the height of a seat portion of the recliner. These designs also typically incline and lower the seat portion of the recliner as it moves to its fully reclined position. As such, occupants are placed in a generally V-shaped reclined position with their feet and head at heights above their hips. Thus, occupants of prior art rocker-recliners are restricted to lying on their back in a partially upright seated position. Such users are unable to lie fully flat on their back and are unable to comfortably lie on their side or front in common sleeping positions.